A “startling and pragmatic book”

“Whether a fine wine or a fine book, a true classic only improves with age. Such is the case with the second edition of Jay Haley’s still ‘startling and pragmatic book on family therapy.’…. Throughout, there is an interweaving of the conceptual and the practical, so that ultimately the book becomes an elegant ‘how-to’ exemplar for Haley’s approach to family therapy…. ‘Must’ reading.”
—Contemporary Psychology

In this ground-breaking book, Jay Haley focuses on solving human problems, achieving goals, and changing behaviors in reasonable amounts of time. Symptoms like depression and alcoholism are considered, not in isolation, but in the context of the entire social unit—the family, the school, the community. The mysterious process of therapy is clearly presented by a masterly and entertaining writer. For the first time in paperback, this modern classic is an indispensable guide for all those who help others.